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How to Nollie Backside 180 on a snowboard

A visual tutorial on how to do a nollie backside 180 on a snowboard.
If you’re come across this by random or just starting out, read the ‘Snowboard trick how to: Intro’ for a solid stance and progression to all other tricks.

Need a visual aid?: Pick an object or place in the snow and head towards it (lets say a twig). Plan it to ride past it, just missing it with the toe edge side of your board. Aim to Nollie just as you pass it and then keep your eyes on the twig as you continue the entire trick.

Switch Stance

Stages

Setup: I find it helps to be flat base, slightly engaged on the heel edge when doing this trick. Play around with the setup and run in, mocking it out so to speak and see what feels best. If the toe edge, or dead flat base feels good then go with that. From now on though I will refer to what ever you choose to push off as as your ‘platform’.

The key here is to combine the setup action of the nollie, with the setup action of a backside rotation. Timing is everything.

Keep a solid platform under your feet until take off. Remember to start with your weight slightly towards the rear leg to help with the transfer of weight onto the front leg, resulting in good pop with the Nollie.

Start by shifting some weight to the rear leg and as you approach ‘your’ spot, flex forward towards the nose of the board extending the back foot out and sinking onto the front foot. (loading the nose up ready for take off).

As you approach ‘your’ spot, rotate the lead shoulder over the toe edge closing the upper body off to the direction of travel. Work on timing so the two previous movements (nollie and rotation) happen simultaneously. – Frame 1. –

Landing: Look down and back towards your tail to spot your landing, extend the legs slightly and land in a solid compact stance. Hold this and keep looking behind you towards your tail for a few feet after landing to prevent a revert. – Frame 4,5 & 6. –

When you feel stable, relax back to a normally riding stance looking along your toe edge to bring the head back round. – Frame 7. –

Need a visual aid?: Pick an object or place in the snow and head towards it (lets say a twig). Plan it to ride past it, just missing it with the toe edge side of your board. Aim to Nollie just as you pass it and then keep your eyes on the twig as you continue the entire trick.

Tips:

Take the board off and give the actions a go standing on the snow – strap back on and give it another go statically.

If you’re struggling to get the feeling of rotating while on the nose (in any direction for that matter, frontside of backside). Practice a couple of 180 nose butters. Be sure it’s just a 180. I know how fun butter can be and it’s easy to get carried away. Make it a smooth 180 backside nose butter – this should help with orientation.

Again, remember! For 180 spins you don’t really need any ‘pre-rotation’, or very little. What I mean by this is the action of winding your arms in the opposite direction to spin and then throwing them forward as you leave the snow.

Ensure a good range of up and down motion as well as rear leg to front leg to ensure you get good pop in the nollie.

Get use to landing blind: On a gentle slope (make sure there is not to many people around and don’t do this from the top of any slope!) ride switch and look back up in the direction you have just come – stay centred and aligned with the entire board in contact with the snow. Then slowly look along your toe edge back into the direction of travel.

Try holding this ‘blind’ riding for 2 seconds at first, then for 5. This will build up your awareness and help you land those blind landings.

To start with practice this trick across the slope – then as you progress and gain more confidence work towards the fall line. Once you are comfortable, try doing this off some small rolling terrain on the mountain.

Struggling? Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to help you out

Where to go from here

If you like this post, be sure to check out more like this in the Freestyle Tips & Tips category. Or, if more technical riding articles are you thing, then check out the Techincal Riding category.

If you would like to know where and what courses I will be coaching within the UK and Europe this year, please refer to my Calander.

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